Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-07-24
GOTHAM TOWN.
INTERESTING MIDSUMMER ITEMS
FROM NRw YORK CITY.
The Stock Exchange-stirring 1t Up-rhe
oolah and its Plot-Per-
sonal Notet.
ICorc.pOudcnco Of the Richmond Di.patch.l

A'HN 'VhNf V"i' - 'RRfs
The Stock Exchange is frightened.
II may seem strange that an institution
which has always assumed TO be in
vulnerable should he frightened, but
il is merely q big fool of the air ut
which the king bird is picking with
such success as to threaten It's life. The
king bird is the Consolidated Exchange.
There is grave consultation among the
members of the older body rs 70 what
shall be done. They regard them
selves MS noble old Romans threatened
by horde Of Cloths. Huns, and Van
dals, led by financial Alarics. Attolas,
and Genserics, and they have
appointed committee TO in
quire into the causes of the dc
cadence Of the exchange and It's
business. A wcll.known member OF
the exchange said TO me in discussing
tins question "Thc conditions Of
stock speculation have changed very
mate rally within the last ten years, and
the Stock Exchange has not adapted its
rules and methods Of business to these
changes There is the cncroachments
Of the Consolidated Exchange with its
commissions Of one sixteenth each way
and the weekly instead of daily settle
mcnts. an idea which was adopted by
the new Chicago Board of Trade Stock
Exchange. There is the competition
of the buckot-shops There are 5000
Of these in the country, and they 10 n
business of at least 81 ,O00, 600 shares
day. There is the more rapid spread
of business intelligence, which tends TO
narrow the fluctuation. and thus check
arbtracc trading the ticker and the
telephone, and the rapid dcvcl-
olmcnt of the telegraph system have
worked a revolution IN the methods OF
disseminating business news. The
Stock | xchangc commissions should bo
reduced to one sixteenth Of ! per cent.
each way. and some means of reducing
interest charges should he devised. As
the rules now stand firm buying
stocks is obliged to send q certified
check in payment for them the next
morning. The transactions are so large
that no firm has capital enough to
handle the stocks az fast as they come
~ NV '''ir 90, "''o" ~
such an extreme that Congress
passed q law making it peual
offence for hank 10 OvcrccrIfy n
finn account. Int the banks got around
r,,t,5 " MA, sd,tn;cLtlv e.t,I.mcnts
.yrL ~ tI,ly j'src an tLn onion It1cl,
T,l,,.rn. q. c,,i,al VIII Lo ro.
a,;,,d n t..'.toclIrnl.roc'' Lrs;noss
~. finn c'rl5 H.. r,rt.,tr5 bv caIling
u.r.lus - r,.lr3. and fine first mar
,a, .,..t..I ~ ,r la ,,.rn.n. ~.
f,,. ,,,lr.. in uar-, c,e's bo m,r..
lin or r,rc,ut and fli- vo3Il
a.. Us. H.. jrrlt..,,rs H.lrci,o
..,.n.,,....i.p Char. e noa d. III w,,lj
.,f,,r,. S,to,L E',ci,n,.
or.; 49,. f.,t..,I.,,,. ..,,l-,.,,t sr.
I'm In. v,ri5 r.tEr,lly Iara i,t@.
r. II claI..- sine. th. Stocks vonlJn,.
!. ,..i fr mi, te usual s.tflip,
1.,.'
H.: ,i-,.,,.,ol, ;f.oof ,-b.+ u.o
,.,..'.,... ..'...r.r..,.,.., tl,s Ctn., /
F,,lIr.. ,r. tr,.p., ~ Lr.no gl,out 7
~. A.,. ;..,. ,......,. ..,,..,;,,,'..,.. /
4-' '' '"'' ,'. many '''i'''.''''i''s' I
I''"' '"'''.'' AZ, a.
advalce"' .'''.' ''. ''''''.'''' - .''' '' I.
volk. ro1e of tA' h.si.An"Wn brokers' .
IN Wall street aro actively interested I'm F.
TIE matter. ana hghcye ln revising tine /
lulte HLd methods 10 meet inc d'- /
nanos a tc tunes. IAy say F,
thy Co Lot want cithIIl.{- .
house !or ttoch business, but would /
establish What they terra an audit
ing department iu the Stock l-1-
change, and name could he furnished
f. traders with wlom they could finally
adjust their transactions so that the d.
liycu,s of stocks could Toe made di-
rectly between the trading members.
In tie gold panic of 1850 some gold
operators were ruined because tA-y ppt
thor gold in the Clcaring-lioUse and
could not ct 1t out. 80 the stoch
brokers' object TO 4 clearinghouse IN
tie street sense. Cine ADVANTAGE Of the
weekly or for,niehtlv settlement system
Is that il tends torcnoye the possibility
Of panics growing ont of "A squeeze in
money.
One Of the facts obvious to those
WHO have given the matter attention is
that the fluctuations in stock are much
smaller than formerly. From 1873 to
1SS2 tAsv averaged J to , per cent
day. whereas within the last few years
tLtv have narrowed down 10 Al average
of TO per cent. day. This renders
il difficult for tho average operator 10
make any money, and arbitrage houses
trading between Ncw York and Lon
don. Iaiis. frankfort, and Amsterdam.
and also IN this country between
New York and Chicago, Boston
aud Thiladclphia. complain Of tAe
steadily narrowing market. The
liz luying on thc luckct-,uops, q
ccu1se. counts ior uothinc it has 10
eject ON the market, bat II the same
llv;pg were Transferred to the l-glt:-
mate Stoch Exchange II might have a
very decided influence on the tiuctua-
t'rs. As 1t "a the buche'-ah"l-Ao'P'
ors simply copper t'cf customers,
and Gle OF the obstacles to return oil
lull markets IS that every now amt then
tie buckot-shop-keepcrs g'7e orders to
FELL ten on twenty thousand shares IN
.r,.r 4. Loot 4hvgr ,tYlpt- end SWlu.i,